


Kingdom Crossings

by Komorii



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fantasy, Magic, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Male Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform, Princes, Reader Insert, Romance, adventure story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-10-18 10:56:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17579546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komorii/pseuds/Komorii
Summary: You could not have had worse luck. First your house gets destroyed, and then you are forced on a journey across the kingdoms to get your house fixed, but maybe you'll find something worthwhile along the way?





	1. Chapter One: Taken and Lost

**Author's Note:**

> This is the oldest of my original stories, from back in 2012 when I posted it on Lunaescence, and I wanted to bring it over here now along with my other two stories. Will try to keep updating this one as well as the others!

You got up early for the first time in a long while, feeling refreshed. You slid out of your bed, stretching your limbs and making your way to the door of your small cottage.  
  
Grabbing your basket, you closed your door behind you, intent on finding some fruits and vegetables for breakfast.  
  
Looking around, you noticed that the forest was quite peaceful and quiet that morning, with nothing more than a few birds chirping and small animals moving around. In living in the forest all your life, you had never seen anything bigger than a deer, and that was only when you were little, wandering around with your mother.  
  
Any time you thought of your mother, a pang of sadness shot through you. Though it had been a few years since she passed away, you still missed her.  
  
You walked along one of the well-worn paths towards the spot where your favorite berries were located. Placing your basket down, you got onto your knees and began to pick through the bush, placing berry after berry in your basket. After you had collected a good amount, you dusted yourself off and were about to head back until you noticed a small rabbit hopping only to come to a stop a few feet from you.  
  
Taking a few berries from your basket, you slowly made your way over, body set in a crouch as to not scare the rabbit.  
  
Your mother always had a way with animals, a skill she seemed to pass onto you as the rabbit sniffed the air carefully before taking a cautious hop towards you. Placing the berries on the grass, the rabbit happily moved closer, eating the berries as you stroked its fur.  
  
A loud noise broke the peaceful silence. You flinched at the loud sound, looking down only to see that the rabbit had run off, frightened. All of the sudden, a feeling of dread settled over you. Leaving your basket of berries behind, you began running as fast as you could back to your home.  
  
  
  
It was a flurry of bodies, horses loudly whinnying, stomping their powerful hooves on the ground. You recognized some of the men as royal guards from Ellarus, the kingdom just north of your cottage, but the other men seemed unfamiliar to you.  
  
You backed up, unsure of what to do, before noticing a man lying on the ground a few feet away from you, clothes seemingly regal in appearance.  
  
Holding back your fear and want to just run away, you carefully advanced, still unnoticed by the men still fighting in front of you.  
  
Struggling slightly, you managed to grab the man and pull him behind some nearby bushes.  
  
You peeked out from the bushes, but quickly put your head back down when you noticed that the royal guards had been taken down to the ground by the other men.  
  
"Where is the prince?" One of the men yelled at the others. When none of them replied, the man scoffed. "Fine, we will take these men back to the king. The prince will have to come and pay for his crimes eventually!"  
  
With that, you heard the hooves stomping away, and you looked out to see the area clear except for a single horse still attached to the royal carriage, the area obvious of a scuffle, and just beyond it...  
  
"My home!" you cried, running over to your house, most of which was now in rubble from the carriage crashing into it, as well as the scuffle.  
  
Before you had much time to dwell on the state of your home, you remembered the man you had rescued. Quickly making your way over to him, you placed your head on his chest, quite happy to hear a heartbeat. Other than a bruise or two, he seemed completely fine.  
  
You took a second to look at him. He only seemed to be a few inches taller than you, handsome and slender, with short, slightly shaggy brown hair.  
  
You weren't given any more time to appreciate his features as he awakened with a start, only to spot you above him, staring down at him.  
  
He sat up, looking around frantically. "What happened?" Standing up, he rushed over to the area of the fight, seemingly ignoring your presence.  
  
He ran over to the carriage, opening the door and looking in before slamming the door closed, muttering under his breath.  
  
You walked hesitantly towards him, slightly afraid of him in his frantic state. "Are you alright?"  
  
Your words seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as he turned to you. "Who are you?" he demanded, advancing towards you a bit.  
  
Holding your hands up, you backed up a bit. "My name is (Name), I came and saw those men fighting and pulled you over there," you spoke hesitantly, pointing towards the bush.  
  
"Why did you do that?" he demanded angrily. "Because of you, he..."  
  
"Because of me?" you cut him off. "My house got destroyed in that fight!"  
  
He looked slightly startled at your reply, and looking over to the ruins of your home, he ran a hand through his hair.  
  
"You're a prince, can't you get it fixed?" you asked, hands settling on your hips, shifting your weight to one foot.  
  
"Me? I'm not a prince," he scoffed. "The real prince was in disguise as a guard, and now he's in the hands of those thugs!"  
  
Taken aback, you shifted your gaze to the ground, suddenly feeling like you had spoken too soon until he spoke up again.  
  
"Seeing as I don't have any other option, if you help me get him back, I'll see what I can do about fixing your house."  
  
"But you were the ones who destroyed it in the first place!" you protested, but one look from him had you reconsidering. "Fine, where do we go?"  
  
"Well, I think I recognized those uniforms as from the kingdom of Imbris. They've had a feud with our kingdom for the past month, so it seems likely that those bastards would do this."  
  
He made his way over to the horse, unhitching it from the carriage and pulled the reins, motioning for you to come over to him.  
  
"Well?" He held a hand out to help you get on the horse, but you hesitated. "What now?"  
  
"This is..." You bit your lip. "I don't even know your name."  
  
"Ellis," he replied. "Now let's go."  
  
  
  
After a while of riding, you finally came to a stop in front of a large town. Helping you off the horse, Ellis tied a note to it, instructing it to go back to Ellarus and deliver the message to the king. "He should be inside the castle in the middle of the city." And without another word, he took off cautiously with you in tow.  
  
The town was very active, people were moving about, small children playing and laughing. There was almost an air of calm surrounding the place. Everything looked peaceful and happy; you were surprised as some children caught you staring at them and waved at you, smiles plastered on their faces.  
  
After a few minutes walking, you were about halfway towards the castle. Looking at the scenery, you were puzzled as to why such a peaceful looking kingdom would stoop to kidnapping. Voicing your thoughts to Ellis, he scoffed. "The Imbrisians had a falling out with our kingdom and ever since then, the dirty rats have been nothing but trouble." Deciding that you wouldn't get any change in reaction from him, you gave up.  
  
When you were at the edge of the palace grounds, Ellis stopped you, deciding instead to move over to the side of the building closest to the front entrance before checking around the corner and then turning back to you.  
  
"They are less likely to suspect a woman of infiltrating their castle, so I'll take care of the guards out front while you run in."  
  
Nodding, you prepared yourself in the shadows while Ellis walked up to the guards. After a short conversation, one of the guards made a move towards him, but was quickly knocked to the ground by Ellis, followed shortly by the other one. He yelled your name and you quickly ran out, jumping over the guards and running into the palace.  
  
It was then you realized that Ellis never told you what the prince or the other guards looked like. Hearing footsteps coming from the other direction, you ran in the opposite direction, hiding behind a wall and hearing shouts from where you had just been.  
  
You heard footsteps coming towards you, but relaxed when it was just Ellis. "What are you doing? Let's go!" he shouted, grabbing your hand and ushering you along with him down the hallway and up some stairs.  
  
But as soon as you had gotten up the stairs, you found yourselves on the receiving end of a group of guards, their swords pointed towards you and Ellis.  
  
From the back of the group of guards, loud footsteps marched their way past the group to the front, revealing a very intimidating looking man, staring down at you and Ellis as if you were prey.  
  
"Well... what do we have here?"  
  
  
  
"Don't worry, Ellarusians, you can be executed along with your friends!" the prison guard told you as the other guards roughly tossed you and Ellis into a cell. "You'll get what you deserve!" he added, before locking your cell door and then making his way out of the jail, laughing boisterously with the rest of the guards.  
  
As soon as they had left, Ellis began pacing around in the small cell. "Damn it, if you hadn't been so slow, we might not be here!" he growled at you.  
  
"Don't blame me! It's not my fault your friends were captured!" you replied. "Now I'll never see my house again..."  
  
Ellis' eyes seemed to soften at your remark, and he stood awkwardly in his spot, unsure how to comfort you.  
  
"Not much of a charmer, are you?" A voice rang out.  
  
Your heads both snapped up to see a man with orange hair standing outside the cell, twirling some keys in his hand and casting an amused expression towards the two of you.  
  
"Shut up!" Ellis replied, cheeks tinted slightly red at the man's remark.  
  
"You know, I could free you," he said, tapping his chin with his finger for a few seconds. "But maybe just the lady. You don't seem very friendly!"  
  
Ellis' mouth curled downwards, eyes flaring. "Stop playing around! Are you going to help us or just continue to be a pest?" he demanded, making his way over to the bars separating you from the man, giving him the worst glare he could manage.  
  
Before either of them could continue talking, you rushed over to Ellis, putting a hand on his shoulder and pulling him back a bit and flashing him a look before turning your eyes to the stranger.  
  
"We'd be really grateful if you could help us," you said softly, giving him your best pleading look.  
  
The man stared at you for a second before grinning. "Alright, but you'll owe me one, darling."  
  
Your brows furrowed at his term, but kept silent as he unlocked your cell, before turning on his heel and walking out of sight. "Good luck!" he called out, and then he was gone.  
  
Ellis wasted no time wrenching the cell door open and the two of you ran out the door.  
  
"The execution should be soon, we should hurry out to the square!" he said, before the both of you rushed off to find the prince and stop the execution.  
  
You escaped out the back of the castle, quickly making your way to the square where there was a large crowd gathered around a platform where a man in a black gown and mask was waiting with an axe in his hands. Beside him was an older man wearing a crown, and when Ellis spotted him you had to stop him from running into the crowd and charging after the man. You also briefly noted another man beside the king, younger, with dark hair and a serious look to him.  
  
"We have to wait and see if the prince is here," you reminded him, and he grudgingly stopped his protests, at least until the prisoners were brought out. You both fell silent as the king held a hand up, before making his way to the podium and beginning his speech.  
  
"Today is a momentous occasion! People of Imbris, today we have caught the person responsible for our princess' disappearance, Prince Torren of Ellarus!"  
  
As the crowd cheered loudly, a man was brought out onto the stage, his head still held high, staring at the king with disdain. He had collar-length blonde hair and was fairly tall. Behind him came a few other men which you recognized as the other guards who were at the fight near your home.  
  
As soon as he appeared, Ellis tore off into the crowd and made his way up onto the stage. "Let him free!" he demanded as Torren stared at him in shock.  
  
You hesitantly ran after Ellis through the villagers and onto the stage and when you made your way over to Ellis, Torren's eyes turned to you. Feeling sheepish, you gave him a small smile before looking at Ellis and then the king. "Why did you kidnap the prince?" you asked, hoping the brave front you were putting on was working.  
  
"How dare you!"  
  
"Therus, what do you think you are doing?" A voice boomed across the entire courtyard.  
  
"Father!" Torren exclaimed.  
  
Across the square, there was a man with jet black hair and a beard to match on a regal black horse along with a few other men, also on horseback.  
  
The man dismounted his horse, making his way to the platform and over to Therus, when a young man stepped in front of Therus, only to be gently pushed aside by him as the other man approached.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?" the man demanded, and Therus only glared at him, taking a step forward.  
  
"You know why, Rouen! Your vile son took my daughter!" he shouted, grasping the front of the Rouen's shirt.  
  
Rouen simply brushed Therus' hand off, turning to his son. "Torren, did you do this?"  
  
"No, father! I would never!" Torren replied.  
  
Therus sneered, crossing his arms. "And we are to trust your brat's word?"  
  
Rouen's steel gaze connected with his son, and then Therus. "My son speaks the truth. I am sorry that your daughter has been taken, but it was not my son."  
  
Before Therus could make a retort, Torren spoke up. "I will quest to find your daughter!"  
  
Everyone turned to Torren with surprised eyes as he continued. "I can't allow my kingdom to be shamed because someone spread such an awful rumor, so the only way I can fix this is to find your daughter."  
  
"I'll come with you!" Ellis immediately added, moving so he was right next to Torren as he undid the rope bonds on Torren's wrists.  
  
You had just been watching up until that point, but you felt a sudden urge of duty. Gathering your bearings, you spoke up. "I can help too."  
  
Torren gazed over at you, surprised, before his expression melted into a warm smile. "Any help you would be willing to offer, miss, I'd be more than willing to accept."  
  
"Alright," Therus began. "But I do not trust your son by himself; I will send my most trusted guard with you to make sure you stay on task." He motioned towards the man who had stepped in front of him earlier, motioning him forward. "Lerus, I will trust this to you."  
  
"Yes, my King," Lerus responded with a bow before moving to stand next to your party.  
  
"Well, Therus, keep faith in my son and his companions. They will bring your daughter safely back to you."


	2. Chapter Two: An Understanding

The crowd was abuzz from Torren's declaration, but King Therus quickly rushed them all out and back to their homes with the promise that their princess would be returning soon.

Torren was quickly whisked away to the side of the stage by his father, followed closely by Ellis, leaving you and Lerus standing awkwardly next to each other.

You decided to attempt to clear up the awkwardness by introducing yourself. "Nice to meet you, I'm (Name)."

Lerus looked over at you, seemingly puzzled that you had decided to speak. "Lerus," he replied, and with that, the silence resumed.

After a while of hushed conversation from the trio, King Rouen made his way over to Therus as Torren and Ellis walked back over to join your group.

Torren made his way over to you, friendly smile set on his face. "I don't believe we've met before. My name is Torren Eldaire, pleased to meet you." Taking your hand, he placed a kiss on it, and you could swear that you saw Ellis roll his eyes.

After introducing himself to you, Torren moved over to quickly introduce himself to Lerus before the two Kings made their way to your group.

"It's settled," Rouen spoke up. "Torren, you and Ellis will come with me back to Ellarus to retrieve supplies and then we will come back here and you will begin your quest."

"Lerus," Therus added. "I will have the map maker talk to you about a route so you will be ready for your journey."

You shuffled your feet, feeling awkward that you hadn't been addressed yet. As if on cue, the two Kings set their sights on you.

"And who might this be?" Rouen asked.

Torren stepped up beside you, placing a hand on your shoulder. "This is (Name). She came with Ellis to rescue me, and she's going to be journeying with us as well."

Rouen stepped forward to shake your hand, giving you a friendly smile that reminded you greatly of Torren's smile. "Thank you for helping my son."

Therus was next to shake your hand. "As well as aiding in the search for my daughter. I would be happy to give you a room at my castle until your companions return."

You waved to Torren and Ellis as they followed Rouen and his soldiers on horseback.

"Their journey should take about half a day to get there and back with the supplies, but in the meantime you are welcome to explore my kingdom," Therus informed you. "If you would like a guide, I'm sure I can find someone to help you."

"No, it's fine," you declined. "I'm really tired from everything that's happened today."

Therus nodded, motioning Lerus over with a hand. "Lerus will show you the way to my castle. I hope you find it suitable."

You and Lerus made your way over to the castle in silence, until you decided to try and start a conversation.

"Did you know the princess?" you asked.

He kept his eyes on the road ahead as he answered. "Yes... I've lived at the castle since I came here, and she was always around me, I thought of her as a little sister."

"Oh," you replied awkwardly. "I'm sorry..."

"It's alright," he spoke politely. "Because I'm going to find her and bring her back."

 

You woke up the next morning feeling refreshed.

Covering your eyes from the sunlight with a hand, you looked out the window, hearing the birds chirping outside.

Making your way out of the bed, you walked over to the window just as the door burst open.

"Hey, it's time to..." Ellis stopped, taking in your form, covered by your nightgown, his cheeks reddening slightly. "Sorry, uh..." With that, he backed up and out of your room, the door closed hastily behind him.

Figuring that it was time to leave, you made your way over to the closet, choosing an outfit for the day.

As you made your way downstairs, you spotted Ellis and Torren having a conversation. Once he spotted you, Torren waved you over. "Sorry about Ellis, he hasn't quite learned how to knock!"

Ellis glared at his friend, but said nothing, cheeks still flushed.

"Are you ready to go?" Torren asked.

Nodding, you followed them down the hall while Torren made small talk and Ellis kept silent.

You made your way to the entranceway, where Therus was waiting for you, Lerus at his side. Therus said something to Lerus, before Lerus left and Therus came over to your group.

"I trust you had a good night's sleep," he said to you.

"Yes, thank you for your hospitality," you replied, returning his smile.

Nodding his head, Therus continued. "Alright, I sent Lerus to fetch your horses, as well as one we have chosen for you, young lady," Therus stated, before leading you outside where Lerus was just approaching, horses in tow, all saddled up for the journey.

Ellis went straight for his horse, while Torren made his way over to Lerus, who was already on his horse.  
You followed Torren, eager to learn about this animal that you had never seen before.

"How could you handle so many at once?" Torren asked, taking the reins of his horse.

"I've worked in the stables since I was young, four horses is no problem," Lerus answered, before looking at you. "Your horse is behind his," he added, motioning to the white horse behind Torren's large brown one.

"What's her name?" you asked, still in awe of the horses.

"Felis," Lerus answered.

You tested the name on your tongue before making your way over until Torren put a hand on your shoulder.

"You need to get on the other side," he said, chuckling at the clueless expression on your face. "Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"No..." you said, biting your lip.

"Hm," Torren hummed, before making his way back to Lerus.

As they were talking, Lerus glanced back at you and you smiled at him nervously, before he turned his attention back to Torren. After they finished talking, Torren came and grabbed Felis' reins, bringing her over to Lerus before making his way back over to you.

"Since you're a first time rider, you'll be riding with me instead!"

You held onto the reins as Torren sat behind you, steering the horse.

"Where are we going first?" you asked him.

"Silnador," he answered. "It's about a day's journey, so we'll be stopping in the next town over for the night and then it should be only a few hours from there."

It fell silent after that, while you took in the passing scenery, all of the animals and plants which you had never seen before.

As the day went on, you became more and more tired. If this was what a quest was like, you weren't too excited about it.

"We’re almost there," Lerus announced, and you mentally cheered. Horses were nice and all, but sitting on one for so long had made you very sore.

Entering the town, you couldn't help but notice that it was a lot less impressive compared to Imbris. While in Imbris, there were the joyed shouts of the villagers, and all the children cheerfully running around; the shouts in this town were more aggressive and angry; it looked more like a thief's town than a town for peaceful villagers.

Lerus led your group off to the side and into a forest beside the town. Torren dismounted his horse before taking your hand and helping you off. Lerus led the horses to a nearby field, allowing them to graze as the rest of you took out your supplies and began to set up camp.

Returning to the group, Lerus held a bundle of wood in his hands. At your lost look, Lerus put the wood down, arranging it and then looking up at you. "We're camping near a town in case we need supplies, but this town is notorious for thieves and killers, so it's best not to look for lodging in this city," he explained.

Ellis stepped forward, hands balling into fists. "Just let them try to get us!" he boasted.

"I don't think you'd say that if you knew some of the stories about this place," Lerus spoke, which quickly silenced Ellis. "Well, one time there was this elderly man..."

 

You had all eaten dinner, accompanied by Lerus' stories. You quickly discovered that Ellis did not really like scary stories, though he was trying very hard to cover it up. 

The evening quickly wound down, and everyone else had fallen asleep quite some time ago, but you lay awake, still feeling the effects of Lerus' stories, too frightened to go to sleep.

You almost jumped out of your skin when you heard a rustling noise near your camp. The forest was quiet, but in the silence any sounds were magnified, and only heightened by your paranoia.

You were about to write it off as the wind until you saw a tall figure emerge from a tree, only a few feet away from you.

Not wanting to alarm the others, you slowly stood up, hoping you were intimidating enough to frighten whoever it was off.

Walking stealthily over to where the figure was hovering around your supplies, you mustered up all your courage.   
"Who are you?" you demanded, trying for the scariest glare you could manage.

The figure immediately snapped their head towards you, and even in the dark, you could just make out the features.

"You?" you gaped.

In front of you was the same man who had let you and Ellis out of the cell you were in back when you tried to rescue Torren. Before you could add anything further, he grabbed you, a hand covering your mouth.

"Can't have you yelling to your friends," he muttered, dragging you away from the camp.

When you were safely out of earshot, his grip slackened and you ripped yourself from his grasp. "What are you doing?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Getting food? A guy has to eat."

You frowned, hands settling on your hips. "You could have just asked... I would have shared with you!"

He seemed genuinely surprised by your words, eyebrows knitting together as he seemed unsure how to respond.  
"Why were you stealing our food?" you pressed.

"This is how I've always lived," he answered, looking at the ground. "Never in one place for too long, I've always been on my own."

Your gaze softened and you bit your lip. "Well, you could travel with us. That way you wouldn't have to steal."

His eyes widened and he scoffed, giving you a snide smile. "I'm not sure how your companions would like that."

"Well..." You hadn't thought about that, but surely if you explained the situation, they might be willing to let him join your quest.

 

"No! No way!" Ellis protested, sending a glare to the man who was standing a few feet away from your group huddle.

"But..." you argued weakly, shoulders slumping in defeat.  
Torren was quick to come to your defense. "I'm sure he can be of some help. Plus, the sooner we can find the King's daughter, the sooner we can return home."

This seemed to please Ellis, as he muttered something under his breath, but otherwise ceased his strong protests.

"So are we in agreement?" Torren asked.

Lerus looked over to you, taking in your hopeful expression. "If (Name) really wants this, I suppose it couldn't hurt."

Allowing a smile to spread across your face, you made your way over to the man to tell him the news.

"Well, you can join us!" you announced.

He gave you a grateful smile, leaning down to your height to give you a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, I really appreciate it. I'm Nathan, by the way."


	3. Chapter Three: Arrival in Silnador

You stood with Nathan while the other three males set to packing up your supplies for the half-day's journey to Silnador, where you planned to ask the king there for his help in searching his kingdom for the lost princess.  
  
You had offered to help, but Ellis had scoffed at you while Torren insisted that you didn't need to get your hands dirty when the men could do the work.  
  
While you weren't completely pleased by this arrangement since you wanted to be of some help, you stayed out of the way, instead trying to talk with Nathan.  
  
Unfortunately, all that you could get out of him were vague, open-ended answers.  
  
"Where did you grow up?" you asked him.  
  
"That was a long time ago. I prefer to focus on the present," he replied.  
  
"What is your family like?"  
  
"I haven't seen them in a long time."  
  
Frowning, you crossed your arms with a huff. "Are you going to answer anything?"  
  
He chuckled at your words, turning his head so he could look directly in your eyes, setting a hand on your cheek and pulling your face a bit closer, to your great surprise.  
  
"Well, my favorite color is crimson, much like your cheeks right now," he teased as you just stood there with his hand still grasping your cheek, not sure how to react to his behavior.  
  
Looking anywhere but at him at that moment, you noticed that your things had been packed up. Without looking at Nathan, you pulled yourself from his grasp and made your way over to Torren, who was busy settling some items on one of the horses.  
  
"Are we ready to go?" you asked him, hoping the red in your cheeks had gone away by now.  
  
He nodded, before addressing Nathan, who was behind you. "Have you ever ridden a horse?"  
  
Nathan smirked. "Of course I have," he replied, striding forward and past you to beside the horses where Torren was standing.  
  
Torren directed Nathan to a horse, before turning his attention to you. "Are you alright to keep riding with me?"  
  
"Yeah," you said, nodding your consent.  
  
"Alright, on to Silnador!"  
  
  
  
The ride to Silnador went by faster than you thought it would.  
  
"Have you ever been there before?" you asked Torren, your arms tightening a little around his waist as the horse trotted up a particularly steep hill.  
  
"Once, when I was younger," Torren replied. "After my mother died, we had to visit the nearby kingdoms to strengthen ties and show that my father was still capable to rule after the loss of his wife."  
  
"Oh," you replied dumbly. The last you heard, his kingdom had always had a Queen...  
  
Torren turned his head back to smile at you. "You're wondering about the current Queen, right?" At your nod, he continued. "My father remarried a year after Mother died, and it was a long time ago, so not many people remember when my mother was Queen."  
  
"I'm sorry..." You weren't sure what else you could say to his sad story.  
  
Torren turned his head back to face the front. "Don't worry," he said, tone of voice sounding undeniably less cheerful.  
  
Casting your eyes downward, you decided to watch the scenery, feeling awkward for bringing up bad memories for him.  
  
As you looked at the passing scenery, the trees began to thin out, and a large wall was slowly becoming visible.  
  
As you approached, two men appeared from the inside of the wall, one of which brandished his sword as Torren pulled on the reins of the horse, coming to a stop in front of the men.  
  
The one with the sword came closer, scrutinizing your group. "What is your business here?"  
  
"We're here to see the king," Torren simply replied.  
  
The pair of men exchanged a look. "What is your business with the king?" the first one replied, grip tightening on his sword.  
  
"We're here on royal business. The princess of Imbris has gone missing and we wish to seek your king's aid in searching his kingdom for her," Torren replied, before reaching into one of his saddlebags and pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment, tossing it down to the men. "That is from the King," he said.  
  
You watched as the men's eyes quickly scrolled over the writing before widening. They stiffened up. "Well" all right," the unarmed man said, handing the scroll back to Torren. "I will take you to the king."  
  
You felt an uncomfortable silence as you all dismounted your horses and were led to the stables to leave them there while you met with the king.  
  
As your companions set to tying up their horses, you approached the men who were standing by the stable doors.  
  
"Um," you began, not quite sure how to phrase your thoughts. "Is there something wrong?"  
  
Again, they exchanged a look of discomfort before turning back to you as the boys finished with the horses and walked over.  
  
Once everyone was standing in a group, one of the men sighed. "His Highness is not well."  
  
"What do you mean?" Lerus asked.  
  
"Well," the other guard spoke up, "His Highness has been growing steadily ill over the past year, but recently he has been bedridden with an unknown sickness."  
  
"Why have the neighbouring kingdoms not been told of this? I'm sure that there is some healer that could help..." Torren said.  
  
The men shook their heads. "It has all been kept a secret by orders from our new Queen. She doesn't want to alarm the other kingdoms or give reason to be attacked, so only anyone directly involved with royal business knows anything about it."  
  
The other guard scoffed. "Some luck she's been. They've only been married two years and he's spent one with illness. Many say it is his punishment for disgracing the kingdom by marrying such a woman so soon after Her Highness' death."  
  
The first guard gave the other a stern look. "We cannot guarantee a meeting with the king, but I'm sure Her Highness would be glad to meet with you and discuss this missing princess."  
  
As the guards took you into the palace, your mind was still on what one of them had said about the king's wife. Was it possible that she was, in fact, cursed?  
  
Given that you had spent your whole life away from society, the only idea of curses you had was from when your mother would tell you stories before bed.  
  
You weren't given any more time to think as you were ushered into a long room which was ornately decorated with a platform that had two chairs perched upon it.  
  
One chair was empty, but in the other...  
  
There sat a woman more beautiful than you had ever seen before. Her figure was delicate and slim, and her long blonde hair cascaded down to her waist. Her face was perhaps the most beautiful part of her, with features that seemed too perfect to be real.  
  
Your reaction was mild in comparison to your companions, with the exception of the guards, who seemed to be used to the sight of this incredibly lovely woman.  
  
Torren and Lerus were the most composed, though their eyes remained trained on the woman. Ellis' face lit up in a blush, and even Nathan took a sharp breath as he stared at her.  
  
One of the guards cleared his throat. "Your Highness, these travellers are here on behalf of the Kingdom of Imbris."  
  
"Very well," she spoke, and even her voice seemed to radiate perfection. "Veris, your assistance is needed in the armory," she told the guard with the sword, and he came forward with a bow, before leaving the room while the other guard who had insulted the Queen earlier scoffed.  
  
With a hand, she dismissed the remaining guard and beckoned your group forward. "Why is it that you have come?"  
  
It was silent for a moment, and you looked around at your companions, who still seemed to be recovering from the sight of her.  
  
Feeling you were the most qualified to form words at the present moment, you spoke up. "The princess of Imbris has gone missing and we have been sent to the nearby kingdoms to see if we could find her.'  
  
"And why do you think she would be in my kingdom?" she replied coolly.  
  
"Well..." You didn't have an answer for her question.  
  
Luckily for you, Torren finally seemed to gather his wits. "Imbris is being thoroughly searched, but there is a good possibility the captor may have escaped to another kingdom in order to evade capture."  
  
The woman made a hum of agreement, before speaking again. "Well I cannot, in all good conscience, allow any criminal to rest safely in my kingdom when I could do something about it. Very well, travellers, you may stay in the castle for as long as you need to in order to find this poor princess."  
  
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Torren said with a bow.  
  
"Think nothing of it," she replied with a radiant smile. "Now allow my guards to show you to your rooms while I go to my husband to tell him of this. You have heard, I assume, of his condition?"  
  
At your nods of understanding, she gave a sad smile, before rising from her chair and making her way to a door beside the throne.  
  
"Come with me."  
  
You turned around to see the guard behind you, ready to lead you to your rooms.  
  
You left the throne room, and walked with the guard down a long hallway towards a wing of the palace with many doors along both sides of the hallway.  
  
  
  
As the others were shown their rooms, it was just you and Lerus left.  
  
When the guard left to lead Ellis into his room, you turned to Lerus. "Do you think we'll be able to find her?" you asked.  
  
"I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "But I will do my best to make sure that she makes it safely back to her father."  
  
You nodded in response, before having a memory spark back to you. "Wait, how long have you known the princess for?"  
  
"I've known Elisa for almost twelve years, since she was about 5," he answered.  
  
"So you were pretty young when you started to serve the King?" you asked.  
  
He blinked dully, resting his back against the wall of the castle's corridor.  
  
Realizing you may have touched on something, you quickly made a move to apologize, but he stopped you by speaking.  
  
"It's fine, it's just been a long time since I've spoken about it."  
  
You let the conversation drop and the guard soon came back to take you and Lerus to your rooms.  
  
  
  
Not yet tired, you decided to walk around, trying not to disturb anymore.  
  
Hearing clanging noises from down the hall, you peeked into a room, only to see Torren and Ellis sparring against each other.  
  
It was a fairly even fight; when one gained any ground, the other quickly took it back.  
  
As you watched, you caught Ellis' eyes and he uttered an "oh," as his sword slowed in his hand.  
  
Turning around, Torren saw you and walked over, sheathing his sword.  
  
"Good evening," he greeted you.  
  
You parroted his sentiment, turning too to Ellis, who simply turned his head to look at Torren.  
  
"You're welcome to watch," Torren said. "If we are to find the Princess, I want us to be the best we can be."  
  
"Do you two practice a lot?" you asked Ellis, hoping to get him to finally say something to you.  
  
"Yeah," was his reply.  
  
"Ellis!" Torren chastised, but Ellis just kept silent, his usual sour look on his face.  
  
"Sorry about him," Torren apologized, drawing his sword once again. "Would you like to watch?"  
  
"If I could," you replied, and at his nod, you took a seat near the door and watched the two men begin to spar once again.  
  
  
  
Unable to sleep, even with the high-quality bedding, you climbed out of bed and walked out to the balcony of your room.  
  
Leaning on the rails of the balcony, you looked around the spacious courtyard, finding yourself very enchanted by the royal lifestyle.  
  
The courtyard was framed by many beautifully trimmed trees and bushes with flowers growing in many colors everywhere. There were elegantly-crafted benches around equally-fancy looking fountains, the largest of which you noticed was molded in the beautiful image of the queen with her hands together in seeming gentle prayer.  
  
It was only when you looked over at a sudden noise that you saw the doors to a balcony a few doors over open, to reveal Nathan looking annoyed, running a hand through his orange mane of hair.  
  
Taking a short look around was enough for him to spot you. Looking mildly surprised, he immediately began making his way across the balconies between his and yours until he came to a stop at your balcony.  
  
Leaning back against the railing, he gave you a look-over.  
  
Checking that your pajamas were in fact, on properly, you looked back up at him, only to find him gone.  
  
"Nathan?" you called, confused.  
  
"Yes?" Came his reply, from behind you.  
  
You whirled around to find that he had somehow managed to get behind the railing on your side, hanging on with one hand and swinging the other one out towards the open air.  
  
"What are you doing?" you exclaimed, shocked, making a grab for his arm to tug him back onto the balcony.  
  
"Fine, fine," he acquiesced, allowing you to grab his arm and get him back over the railing.  
  
"What was that?" you asked.  
  
He shrugged. "It looked fun and I had nothing else to do."  
  
"That seems like how you live your life!" you joked.  
  
You didn't expect anything but maybe a laugh, so you were surprised when he averted his eyes and just stared out at the courtyard.


	4. Chapter Four: More to Lose

You were abruptly woken up by a soft knock on your door.  
  
Sitting up in bed, you called out for the person to enter.  
  
Whoever you were expecting, it was definitely not the Queen, looking just as beautiful, if not more, as when you had last seen her.  
  
Smiling at you, she made her way over, some fabric in her arms. When she reached the side of the bed, she sat down beside you. "I thought you may not have had any clothing with you, so I brought you an old dress of mine."  
  
"Thank you," you said sheepishly.  
  
"Well then," she said, standing up. "I will leave you to dress. Please let me know if you need anything."  
  
With that, she left, closing the door behind her.  
  
You turned your gaze to the dress that she had left on the bed. It was very fancy, much prettier than any dress you had ever worn before.  
  
Quickly changing, you gazed upon yourself in a mirror that was in a corner of the room. _The Queen sure had a way with beautiful things_. The dress, you were surprised to see, looked very natural on you, instead of looking silly like you had imagined it to.  
  
Folding the clothes you were wearing before, you placed them on your bed before leaving your room.  
  
Walking down the long hallway, you noticed one of the doors was wide open. Taking a look in, you spotted Nathan pacing around by the window.  
  
"Nathan?"  
  
He spun around, eyes looking startled, but relaxed as soon as he saw you.  
  
"Ah, (Name). Good morning!" he greeted, striding over to you.  
  
You echoed his greeting, stepping back into the hallway, with Nathan walking beside you.  
  
Soon you found the other three boys sitting around a table with plates of food in front of them. "I guess we're a bit late," Nathan whispered lightly to you.  
  
You two were greeted by the boys as you sat down, taking a seat next to Torren.  
  
Noticing Torren's eyes on your attire, you bit your lip, embarrassed. "The Queen lent me one of her dresses."  
  
Torren smiled. "That was very kind of her. And a good choice as well, you look beautiful."  
  
Your face flushed at his sudden compliment. He really was too good with his words!  
  
Your attention was then grabbed by Lerus speaking up. "We should divide into groups to search the city, that way we can cover more ground."  
  
"I can go by myself!" Ellis protested.  
  
Lerus took a moment to consider his objection. "Alright, if you insist. Well then the..."  
  
"I think we should go by ourselves as well," Torren cut in. "We need to find the princess as soon as possible, and I think we could cover more ground alone."  
  
Lerus nodded. "Okay, so we'll all go by ourselves then."  
  
  
  
The plan was to all split up and do some searching in the kingdom for any clues of where the princess could be.  
  
So how is it that _you_ ended up stuck with Nathan?  
  
 _"We still don't know him that well, (Name)," Torren had told you. "So we need someone to keep an eye on him."_  
  
And being a sucker, you had agreed.  
  
So now you were stuck being Nathan's babysitter. But to his credit, he wasn't that bad of an investigator.  
  
"So you haven't heard anything of the dear princess? What a shame..." he spoke solemnly to a group of women that he had approached.  
  
Turning away from the women, he made his way back over to you. "Nothing... again," he said, not bothering to hide his obvious boredom. "None of these people have even heard of the princess, let alone seen her."  
  
"Yeah," you agreed. "I don't think there's a good chance that anyone here knows anything."  
  
When he nodded, you saw a glimmer of something you couldn't place in his eyes. You were confused when he suddenly grabbed your wrist, pulling you along with him.  
  
"Where are we going?" you asked him.  
  
He didn't turn back to look at you but continued to pull you. "Somewhere where I think we'll get more answers."  
  
You only walked for a few more minutes before he came to a stop in front of an old-looking building.  
  
Letting go of your wrist, Nathan strode over to the door, pulling it open and motioning for you to follow him.  
  
Walking into the building, a strong smell came wafting out. It smelled like grunge and alcohol, and you did all you could to not make a face at the scent.  
  
"Go ask around," Nathan told you, before sauntering over to some women at the bar, who giggled at his arrival.  
  
Frowning, you looked around the tavern, surprised to spot the sword-ready guard from the previous day, sans sword. You were about to go over to him before you noticed that he was talking with a pretty young girl, and they looked fairly friendly.  
  
Instead of interrupting, you decided to walk over to some of the less scary looking patrons to ask about the princess.  
  
  
  
An hour later, you were no better off than you had been before. None of the patrons had ever seen or even heard of the princess.  
  
Fed up with the whole thing, you made your way over to Nathan, furiously tapping him on the shoulder while he was talking with yet another group of women.  
  
He turned his head back to see you looking at him with an unhappy expression and sighed. "Sorry ladies, but I must go."  
  
This was met by many protests from the group of ladies, who all sent you glares at being deprived of his company. Paying them no mind, you turned and walked from the tavern, hearing Nathan give his farewells to the women before following you.  
  
"Did you find anything out?" you asked once you were out the door, deciding not to bring up all the flirting he had done in the tavern.  
  
"Nothing more than we knew before," he answered, shrugging.  
  
Just as you were about to tell him off for wasting time flirting, you heard your name being called out.  
  
You turned to see Torren running towards you.  
  
"Did you have any luck?" he asked once he came to a stop beside you.  
  
You shook your head. "Nobody here has even heard of her."  
  
Torren nodded in response. "I thought as much. I don't think she is in this kingdom... it's near impossible to pull off something like this without anybody in the vicinity noticing anything strange. I think we should move onto the next town, though we should stay at least another day to make sure we haven't missed anything."  
  
  
  
You couldn't help but feel slightly down at dinner that night. After all your searching, you were no closer to finding the princess than before.  
  
Though you thought of your house, you also couldn't help but think of the poor king who had to continue to rule a kingdom while his daughter was missing.  
  
When the meal was over, you decided to walk around the palace to try and clear your head.  
  
After walking around for a while, you found a balcony in the back part of the palace. Leaning against the railing, you admired the night sky as you thought about your life before all of these complications.  
  
Lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice footsteps until a person came to a stop beside you.  
  
"Hello."  
  
You nearly jumped in surprise. Putting a hand to your chest, you turned to the person. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you..."  
  
Your eyebrows furrowed. Who you were expecting to be one of your companions was instead an old and frail looking man.  
  
"It's quite alright, my dear," he said, turning his eyes to the sky as well. "I take it you are a visitor to the palace? Not many people come back here."  
  
You nodded. "Me and my friends are here on a mission to find the King Therus' missing daughter."  
  
The old man frowned. "Therus' daughter is missing? This is the first I've heard of this..."  
  
You bit your lip, leaning further against the railing. "You're not alone, nobody in this kingdom seems to know anything."  
  
The man let out a breath, allowing the conversation to lapse into silence.  
  
Finally, he spoke up. "If you'll excuse me, I must be going," he said, giving you a polite smile. "It was very nice talking to you, young lady."  
  
"Yes, you too," you replied, smiling at him as he walked back inside the palace and taking only a few more minutes before you too made your way back inside.  
  
Not quite done walking around, you made your way to the entrance of the palace, intent on taking a walk around the town to see if there was anything you missed.  
  
"...is missing! Listen to me!"  
  
"Sir, you have to calm down."  
  
You suddenly heard voices at the gates of the palace. Walking over to the source of the noise, you found a palace guard talking a couple who were clearly distraught.  
  
"I will _not_ calm down when my daughter is missing!" the man protested.  
  
"What's happening?"  
  
You spun around and saw Lerus right behind you, looking as confused as you were.  
  
"I don't know," you replied, "I just came out now."  
  
Lerus nodded, striding forward over to the conflict, with you reluctantly in tow.  
  
At your arrival, the guard looked slightly sheepish. "I am sorry for this disturbance, I will have them removed from palace grounds at once!"  
  
Lerus waved dismissively at the man. "That won't be necessary."  
  
"B-but Sir... You are a guest in the palace and..."  
  
"It's fine." Lerus smiled reassuringly, before telling the guard to attend to his other duties.  
  
The guard looked reluctant, but agreed and walked away, taking short glances back as he went.  
  
"Here," Lerus said to the couple, "come in and explain to us what is wrong."  
  
The man smiled gratefully at his statement and the woman looked ready to burst into tears. Lerus opened the gates and they came in and stood before you.  
  
"Our daughter is missing," the woman said, choking back a sob. "And we tried to tell him, we tried, but he wouldn't... he just wouldn't..." she trailed off, unable to calm herself down.  
  
"He wouldn't listen to us because she's only been missing a few hours," the man filled in where she couldn't. 'But she would never disappear for that long. She was a bit rowdy, but a good girl," he finished, putting an arm around the woman.  
  
"What does she look like?" Lerus asked.  
  
Immediately the man dug an arm in his coat pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, he thrust it towards Lerus. "This is a drawing of her that an old friend did for us..."  
  
You leaned over beside Lerus to get a look at the picture. It was really well done, you noted. The person depicted was a fairly young woman who was very pretty, though somehow familiar to you...  
  
"I saw her earlier!" you blurted out unintentionally. Realizing everyone's eyes were now on you, you continued. "She was in a tavern that I was in..."  
  
The man smiled sadly. "That sounds like our Lyla..."  
  
"Is it alright if I hold onto this?" Lerus asked, pocketing it after the man nodded. "I think it's best for you to go home now. I will take this to the King and we will find your daughter."  
  
After the couple repeatedly thanked him, they left, the man supporting his wife who had begun to cry again.  
  
After the gates were closed, you turned to Lerus. "Why did you tell them that? Isn't the king sick?"  
  
Lerus sighed. "Yes, but I thought they would be more reassured if I said the King would help them... I will go to the Queen to ask for her help though."  
  
"Alright," you agreed as you two walked back inside the palace.  
  
  
  
An hour later you found yourself and Lerus, along with the other three boys, arranged in the throne room with the Queen.  
  
"And you said you saw this woman?" the Queen asked you.  
  
"Yes," you replied. "I saw her in the tavern." As the Queen nodded in reply, the gears in your brain turned and you remembered another detail to add. "She was with one of your guards; I think we should ask him about it too!"  
  
"Very well," she said, "I will enquire about this with him later."  
  
And with that, you were dismissed.  
  
You couldn't help but wonder; how did the Queen know which guard you were talking about?  
  
Voicing this concern to the rest of the group, they were not very concerned.  
  
"One of them must visit taverns a lot," Nathan suggested dismissively as you all parted ways for the night.  
  
Nathan walked down the hallway to his room, with Ellis and Lerus not far behind. Torren, however, lingered behind with you.  
  
"It just doesn't make sense," you said, turning your eyes to the floor.  
  
"I know," Torren agreed. "Something doesn't fit. But we can't do anything else tonight, so I will see you tomorrow morning." And with that, he was gone.  
  
You couldn't just go to bed. Something was wrong, and you had to try and figure out what.  
  
Walking down the hallway, you passed your room, intent on finding the guard you had seen in the tavern.  
  
Hearing hushed voices, you walked as quietly as possible over to a room with a closed door. Pressing your ear to the door, the voices became clearer.  
  
 _"You oaf, don't you know that your incessant flirting could be the death of me?"  
  
"My sincerest apologies, my lady. I was as careful as I could be."_  
  
You recognised the voices immediately as that of the Queen _and_ the guard you were looking for. She certainly did not waste any time interrogating the guard, you thought.  
  
About to knock on the door to join in on the conversation, you froze in your spot at the next words.  
  
 _"Well did you at least take care of her?"  
  
"Yes, my Queen. I made sure to lock her with the rest."  
  
"Good, at least you can do something right. She was too old though, you must bring me a younger one next time."  
  
"Yes, my Queen."_  
  
As the sound of footsteps approached the door, you quickly hid behind a nearby open door.  
  
You watched as the guard walked by you and into another room. Not hearing the Queen leave the room, you snuck out from behind the door...  
  
...only to come face to face with the Queen herself.  
  
Her beautiful face was turned in a sneer. "Do you really think that I wouldn't hear you standing outside the door?" she asked.  
  
You bit your lip, unsure of how to answer, before your world suddenly went black.  
  
  
  
After Nathan had been lying in the chair in his room for a while, he was feeling pretty bored.  
  
Standing up, he pondered his options. Not really feeling like talking with the other guys, he decided to see if you were at your balcony again.  
  
Swinging the doors to his balcony open, he looked out to where he thought your room was, seeing nobody on that balcony, or the ones in between.  
  
Figuring he had nothing really to lose, he began hopping the balconies until he reached the one he was pretty sure was yours.  
  
Peering through the window, Nathan didn't initially see anyone. He then tried the door handle, but finding it locked, he decided it wasn't worth breaking part of the door just to have you freak out on him if you were inside.  
  
Shrugging it off, he went back to his balcony to find something else to do.  
  
  
  
Shoes clacking on the floor, Lerus made his way towards the Queen's audience room.  
  
It had been a few hours since his last audience with the Queen, but he couldn't get that couple and their daughter out of his head.  
  
While there was so much trouble trying to find Princess Elisa, he figured he might as well spend his other time trying to help people who he knew needed help, and had a better chance of actually finding their daughter in Silnador.  
  
Stopping before the Queen's door, he quickly ran a hand through his black hair, smoothing it in places he felt were probably slightly messy before knocking loudly on the door.  
  
Not getting a reply from inside, Lerus reluctantly turned around to leave, but when he was a few steps away, he heard a sound from inside.  
  
"Is anyone in there?" he called out, knocking again.  
  
Frowning at the resulting silence, Lerus sadly turned away, resolving to help deal with the couple's missing daughter as soon as he could.  
  
  
  
Ellis walked along the hallway, trying to find where his room was, slightly annoyed at the sheer size of the castle. It wasn't a lot bigger than the castle in his home kingdom of Ellarus, but he had lived there a long time and had plenty of time to navigate his way there.  
  
Irritated, Ellis scoffed and rolled his blue eyes when he discovered that he had hit yet another dead end. As much as he hated asking for directions, he started to wander aimlessly around, trying to find a guard or maid or something to ask where his room was.  
  
After five minutes of walking around without a single person in sight, Ellis was starting to get fairly annoyed.  
  
Ready to slam his fist into a wall or something, Ellis finally spotted a guard turning a corner down the hall from him.  
  
Stalking over, Ellis turned the corner to give the guard a piece of his mind...  
  
...only to see nobody in the entire long hallway.  
  
  
  
Torren's eyes were again drawn to the clock on the wall of the room he was in.  
  
Ellis was late again. Putting the fencing sword down, he figured he could at least go invite (Name) to watch them duel again, and give Ellis more time to get himself un-lost.  
  
It was a fairly quick trip to her room. Knocking, Torren listened for a reply.  
  
When one didn't come, he knocked again, before hesitantly opening the door a crack and looking in.  
  
When he saw no sign of movement, he opened the door wider until he had a full view of your room, with no sign of you in it.  
  
"I probably just missed her," he rationalized out loud to himself.  
  
Figuring Ellis was probably waiting for him by now, Torren made his way back to the room he and Ellis had been using to spar.


	5. Chapter Five: Hidden Secrets

Your eyes slowly opened, and you began to adjust to the low light of the room you found yourself in. One tug told you immediately that your arms were bound behind you by two locked metal cuffs which were attached to a block of wood that was against the wall. Pulling your arms, you discovered quickly that the cuffs had very little give.  
  
Squinting against the darkness, you were instantly reminded of your mother’s description of dungeons from the stories she had told you when you were a child.  
  
Dark stone walls kept almost all light out, save for a single window, its small rays of light breaking into the room and indicating to you that it was now morning.   
  
Your hurried inspection of the room almost made you miss the person right across from you. You let out a gasp, which in turn caused the other person to gasp as well.  
  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” A female voice whispered, sounding weak.  
  
Titling your head to make better use of the light, you tried to get a good look at the girl. “Wait… are you Lyla?”  
  
“How do you know my name?” she responded, sounded frightened.  
  
You shook your head quickly to calm her fears, unsure if she could see the movement with the lack of light. Offering her your name to try and calm her, you continued. “Your parents came to the castle yesterday because you disappeared.”  
  
The girl sounded very close to tears when she replied. “…my parents were looking for me?” It sounded to you like she was talking to herself more than you, but that changed when she raised her head to look you in the eyes. “We have to get out of here. The queen could be coming any minute and I-”  
  
You cast your eyes towards the floor with a sad sigh as she confirmed what you had already suspected. You listened as she told you that the queen had essentially been taking young girls, draining them of their youth with some crystal, and then throwing them into a dungeon on a lower level of the castle.  
  
“…the queen was going to do it to me yesterday but then she suddenly left. I watched her do it to another girl; it turned her from a young girl into an old woman…” Lyla finished, the tears freely flowing now.  
  
Your blood felt like it was boiling at her words. The queen had seemed so nice to you until last night, but clearly she worked very hard to keep up appearances, unfortunately fairly literally. Had she been doing this since she first married the King? You couldn’t even imagine how many young girls had fallen victim to her scheme.  
  
Focusing back in on Lyla, you noticed her bindings were identical to yours, the same metal cuffs which were bound to a plank of wood on the wall. Furrowing your brow, you began to wonder exactly how sturdily the wood was attached to the wall.  
  
Resolving yourself to at least try, your eyes met Lyla’s. “I think I might be able to free you, but you have to stay very still.”  
  
“What do you-” she started, but quieted as soon as she noticed you raising a leg, before kicking as hard as you could at one side of the block of wood which held her cuffs. Lyla remained quiet, but moved as far as she could to the side to give you more room to work.  
  
After a few minutes work, the plank of wood was beginning to show some give. It seemed that the Queen hadn’t exactly planned for your methods when she was designing her captive areas.  
  
After around ten minutes, the nails in the first side of wood had been pushed far enough into the stone wall to allow the wood to swing down, held up only by the nails on the other side.  
  
Lyla moved to the other side without being asked, focusing on noises outside to make sure nobody was coming while you began working on the nails on the other side.  
  
Having already known what to expect, the other side came off a bit easier. With a final kick, the board fell along with the cuffs. With a bit of maneuvering, Lyla was able to get the cuffs unattached from the wood, although they were still attached to her hands.  
  
Lyla turned to you, intent on helping you get out of your binds, before a clacking sound froze the blood in both of your veins. The consistently approaching sound of heels on the floor heading towards you led you to only one conclusion; the Queen was coming.  
  
Panic spread in Lyla’s eyes as she frantically brought her hands to the wooden plank, trying fruitlessly to pull your board off the wall, panic increasing after every added second of failure.  
  
With the clacking only getting louder and closer, you were forced to confront a harsh truth. Lyla was free, there was a window nearby, and neither of you would survive if nobody knew where you were. Mind sadly made up, you spoke up. “…you have to get yourself out of here.”  
  
“But…” she protested, still pulling at the board.  
  
The footsteps grew closer and you steeled your gaze on her. “Just go. There should be a group of boys in the castle somewhere, bring them back here and they should be able to help. Just ask for Torren and he’ll help you.”  
  
She gazed at you, tears in her eyes and looking as if she had more to say.  
  
“If you don’t get out of here now, neither of us can be saved. Go!” Lyla reluctantly nodded, running over to the window and opening it, before taking one last look at back at you and then crawling through it to the sunlight outside.  
  
As soon as you saw her safely leave, you braced yourself as the door to the dungeon room opened and in walked exactly who you expected.  
  
The Queen sure didn’t look like she was losing any sleep over what she was doing to all the girls, if her smirk was anything to go by. Her smug look vanished the second she noticed that the other girl was now missing.  
  
“You…!” she seethed at you, before turning to the guard behind her. “Go find that girl _immediately._ ”  
  
The guard looked slightly reluctant to engage in the situation, but one look from her sent him running out of the room to assumedly find Lyla. You grit your teeth, silently hoping that Lyla would be able to find the guys before the guard found her.  
  
Her heels clicked ominously as she walked right up to you, anger burning in her eyes. “I’m going to make you regret that,” she threatened.  
  
You felt your own anger immediately bubble up to the surface at this woman. “You mean like what you did to all those girls?” you accused.  
  
She simply smiled, taking a calculated step back. “So you’ve heard,” she taunted. “That’s how this whole thing works; they have youth, and _I want it_ , so I take it.”  
  
She walked around the dungeon slowly, as if taking in the memories of what had happened down there as she continued to talk. “The king is such a fool, one bat of my eyes and he was mine. I almost feel bad for getting rid of that old ugly wife of his.”  
  
You inhaled sharply; you knew that she only said that as a shock tactic, but it still didn’t make the true horrors of this woman’s actions any less terrible. If you weren’t scared before, you definitely were now, as you skin crawled with fear, especially as the Queen then made her way back to you.  
  
“Right now my guard must be dragging that girl back here, but I can’t risk your _friends_ coming in to crash the party, so now seems as good a time as any to get rid of the evidence.”  
  
  
  
  
That morning found the boys meeting in the palace foyer to discuss the day’s plans.  
  
“I was thinking of returning to that bar that (Name) said she saw that missing girl in,” Lerus spoke.  
  
“Why waste your time on some missing girl? We just need to find that princess so we can leave!” Ellis protested, crossing his arms.  
  
“While we sit here, another girl’s family is missing their daughter and you expect me to do nothing?” Lerus countered.  
  
Ellis bristled, sneering at Lerus. “Well maybe if you would just—”  
  
“Speaking of her,” Torren smoothly cut into the burgeoning argument. “Where is (Name)?”  
  
“Didn’t see her at breakfast,” Nathan chimed in, furrowing his brow. Shrugging, he got up and turned down the hallway. “I guess I’ll go wake her then.”  
  
Nathan barely made it a few steps down the hallway before a force crashed into him with a feminine cry, knocking him back. Steadying himself, he looked down to see a girl around his age sprawled on the floor, looking very scruffy and had her hands cuffed.  
  
“P-please don’t hurt me!” she cried out, covering her tear-stricken face with her dirty hands. Startled, Nathan backed off a bit, unsure if he should comfort her or just stay back.  
  
Hearing the commotion, the other boys rushed over, confused. Torren and Ellis exchanged a look, before Torren walked over to the girl, kneeling down next to her.  
  
“Are you alright, miss?” he gently asked. Seeing her begin to shake, he hastily pressed onwards. “My name is Torren and I—”  
  
“Torren?” she gasped, licking her lips nervously, looking behind her before scrambling to her feet at such a speed that it shocked the boys. Eyes wide with fear, she looked around at the other boys quickly before her eyes settled back on Torren. “You have to come with me. Now.”  
  
Ellis stepped forward, eyes flaring with a challenge. “And just why would we—”  
  
“You’re Lyla.” Lerus had stepped forward after getting a closer look at her face, turning his head back to the address the others. “The girl I mentioned who went missing yesterday.”  
  
His expression steeling immediately, Torren turned back to Lyla. “Why do you need us to come with you? What happened to you?”  
  
“There’s no time!” Lyla insisted. “I was in the dungeons! A girl named (Name) was there with me, and she helped me escape, but I couldn’t help her and she told me to leave and find you and—”  
  
“Woah, calm down there, darling,” Nathan stepped in, putting a hand on her shoulder, but even his eyes betrayed the tension he felt when he heard (Name)’s name. “Tell us what happened.”  
  
Before Lyla could speak, a guard came barreling down the hallway. “You!” he shouted, rushing straight at Lyla, noticing the boys as he reached out to grab Lyla, while she stepped back, trying to hide behind Nathan.  
  
The guard quickly bowed to the boys. “I’m sorry Prince, I did not mean to disturb you, but that girl is a dangerous prisoner who must be recaptured and—”  
  
“He’s lying!” Lyla screamed. “Him and that Queen are kidnapping girls and stealing their youth!”  
  
Confusion flitted across the boys’ faces, looking from the guard to Lyla, unsure whether to believe the nervous guard or the dirty girl who claimed the Queen was a kidnapper.  
  
“S-she’s lying,” the guard stammered. “Your liege, let me take this girl away before she causes more trouble…” he spoke, hesitantly reaching out for Lyla.  
  
A growl sounded from the group as Ellis stepped forward, fists clenched. “You’d better shut up and tell me where (Name) is now before I make you regret it.”  
  
“Y-you…” the guard stammered, eyes flitting between Ellis and Lyla as he fought to come up with a plan.  
  
“Too late,” Ellis hissed, punching the guard in the head so hard that he lost consciousness instantly, slumping to the floor. Ellis smirked, cracking his knuckles as he looked down at his handiwork, whereas Torren sighed, pinching his nose before turning to face Lyla.   
  
“Can you take us to (Name)?”  
  
  
  
  
The Queen ran one of her nails along your cheek and down your neck, leaving a thin scratch in her wake.  
  
“I do feel for you, girl. But you have no one to blame but yourself,” she chided, turning and striding around the room, laying her hand along a wall as she walked by it, making her way slowly to the center of the room, where the light from the window bathed her in sunlight, illuminating her beautiful features, which at this moment were pulled back in a smirk.  
  
“Why are you doing this?” you asked, figuring that any time she spent talking instead of sucking your life away would give Lyla more time to find the boys and bring them here to hopefully save you.  
  
“Haven’t I laid it out already, you simpleminded girl?” she chastised. “I intend to remain youthful and beautiful forever, and you’re next on the list.”  
  
Tapping her chin, she smiled at you, flaunting her lack of aging. “This whole kingdom is so weak. The former Queen was no problem for me, and all I have to do is take some of the King’s energy so he’s too frail to do anything and I’m free to do as I wish.”  
  
“Wait, you’re the reason the King is sick?” you asked.  
  
The Queen rolled her eyes. “Of course I am, do you think everything is a coincidence? How have you survived until now in this world?”  
  
You were about to respond, until she grasped your chin harshly, making you wince. “If you think I’m going to talk and talk until your friends get here to _save_ you, you’re mistaken. By the time they get here, you’ll be right into old age.”  
  
A shiver went down your spine, wanting to believe in your friends and Lyla but at the same time, you could see in front of you that your time was running out, and you were out of ideas.  
  
The Queen reached down and unclasped the front of her necklace, exposing a bright green jewel that was set in the locket. She began to slowly run her finger over the gem, before placing a hand on your face. As you made to bite her hand, you felt all your strength immediately sap from your body, leaving you with barely enough strength to keep your eyes open as you watched your life force be sucked into the locket.  
  
It felt like an eternity as you felt yourself aging physically and mentally, but it was interrupted by a loud noise, followed by what sounded like yelling in the distance, though that may have just been the effects of the forcible aging on your senses.  
  
You felt a snap as some of your energy returned to you, and you looked over just in time to see Ellis barrel into the Queen, both sprawled over on the ground.  
  
Looking back at the door, you saw the rest of the boys, as well as Lyla. Behind them, guards were rushing into the room, and the other three boys were fighting them back as Ellis dealt with the Queen.  
  
Amongst the chaos, Lyla ran over to you, pulling at your restraints with tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I came as fast as I could, I-”   
  
You cut her off with a shuddering breath, your energy still feeling very sapped, but you had to tell her, had to tell them what you knew. “Lyla, the necklace…” you said slowly, “the necklace is her power. You have to get it.”  
  
Nodding quickly, Lyla turned to the fight going on between Ellis and the Queen. By this time, the Queen had shoved Ellis off of her, and looked to be preparing to suck his life from him.   
  
You felt so powerless, unable to do anything to help him, but luckily for you, Lyla was in better condition. You watched as she grabbed the board that bound her hands earlier, and brought it up and over the Queen’s head, knocking the Queen off balance and onto her knees. Not wasting one moment, she screamed at Ellis to grab the Queen’s locket, which he quickly did as he dove at her, grabbing the chain to her necklace and pulling hard.  
  
The Queen let out a high pitched screech as the locket was ripped from her neck, and made a desperate grab at Ellis, who quickly moved out of her range. As fast as he could, Ellis threw the locket against the wall, and when it fell to the floor, he stomped on it as hard as he could.   
  
The gem cracked loudly with the stomp, and one more stomp solidified its fate as it broke into a thousand tiny pieces, and the effects were immediate. You took in a sharp breath, feeling a rush as you felt your energy return to you, and with it, you were restored back to how you were before the Queen had aged you.  
  
Shaking your head to clear your fuzzy mind, you turned your head sharply when you heard Lyla’s scream. You looked over just in time to see the Queen release a last shriek as you watched her true age start to appear on her body, hair greying and skin wrinkling, before she all of a sudden passed the brink of death and burst into dust, which fell to the floor in a heap.  
  
The Queen’s death stunned the guards, and the fight by the entrance the dungeons stopped as the bguards were suddenly aware of what happened to their Queen.  
  
Now freed from combat, the rest of the boys rushed over to where you were, Torren and Lerus immediately working on removing your restraints, and with their combined strength, you were freed fairly quickly and rubbing your sore wrists as you surveyed the scene before you.  
  
Ellis was on the floor, looking slightly winded from the fight, but making sure he wasn’t close to the pile of dust that was the former Queen. Lyla looked even more freaked out, and had backed up to a nearby wall and sunk to her knees, trying to calm down.   
  
Meanwhile, Torren and Lerus had made their way over to the guards, demanding to see the King immediately, while Nathan had replaced them by your side, wrapping an arm around your shoulders to support you, as you were still feeling somewhat weak after your ordeal.  
  
“We owe so much to you, without your intervention, my Kingdom and I would not likely survive for long.”  
  
The next day the five of you, including Lyla and her very relieved parents, were in the throne room in front of a much healthier looking King. You had a hard time with your shock at the start upon realizing that the man in front of you now was the same one you talked with on the balcony only two days before. Had you realized he was the King you would’ve made more effort to show respect, but he didn’t seem to have anything but gratitude for you now.  
  
“I am ashamed that I allowed my Kingdom to suffer like this,” the King continued.  
  
Elbowing an Ellis who looked like he had something to say, Torren stepped forward. “There is no way you could have known, Your Highness.”  
  
A sad smile crossed the King’s face. “Thank you for your words, young man. But my negligence has cost me my wife, and almost my own life. This will be my burden to bear.” Not allowing any more time for interjections, he pressed on. “Now, to show my thanks, I have had the Kingdom thoroughly searched, but have been unable to locate the lost princess. However, hope is not lost, I feel strongly that you may find what you seek in Cormagh.”  
  
“Cormagh?” Lerus growled, brows knitting together. “Why would she be there?”  
  
“Cormagh is a dark, awful place. The inhabitants largely live underground, and none of the other kingdoms like to associate with them as bad things always tend to happen to messengers sent to Cormagh,” the King looked to each of you, nodding at his own conclusion as he went along. “I wish it were not so, but if you wanted a place to take someone that you would not be followed to, it would be a very likely target.”  
  
Torren bowed his head, unease clear on his face. “Thank you, sir. If that’s where you think the Princess is, then that is where we will go.”  
  
  
  
Heading out, Ellis couldn’t help but voice his frustrations. “All that for nothing? Are we just going on a wild goose chase to find a princess that won’t be found?”  
  
Lerus’ face hardened visibly at that. “Who are you to decide that she will never be found?” Ellis turned his head away with a scoff, furthering angering Lerus. “She may not mean anything to you but while you complain, King Therus sits powerless in his castle not knowing what happened to his daughter!”  
  
Before Ellis could retort, Torren put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a hard look. “Ellis, frustrated as you may be, remember that you agreed to search for the princess in order to clear my name, and if nothing else, keep that as a focus. Whether you care about the princess or not, finding her affects our kingdom as well.”  
  
Ellis crossed his arms, but said nothing more, refusing to make further eye contact with anyone as he walked to the side of the group.  
  
Seeing an opportunity, Nathan made his way to your side, leaning in a bit close for your liking. “How are you feeling?”  
  
“I’m fine…” you trailed off, and before you could ask him why he was suddenly so concerned with your well-being, he continued.  
  
“…Because, you know, the whole getting magically aged thing. Just thought I’d let you know that I don’t mind; I’m into older women too,” he said cheekily, somehow managing to keep the grin on his face while he expertly dodged your swat at his head.


	6. Chapter Six: The Sleeping Boy

On a dark and dreary night…

You recalled that saying from books you read in childhood, but it sure seemed to apply to your current situation as well. You had crossed the boundary into Cormagh around an hour earlier, and it was only midday, but you found yourself surprised by the sheer darkness of the place.

“I had heard this place was always in darkness, but seeing it myself is entirely different,” Torren articulated.

“Yeah, no wonder nobody wants to deal with this place,” Ellis added, scoffing.

Just being in this place drew a nervousness out of you, and looking around at your companions, you found you were not the only on feeling uneasy. Even the horses looked like they half wanted to just turn back around to the sunnier pastures you had passed by on your way to Cormagh.

Lost in your own thoughts, you looked up at Lerus’ vocal warning that the city of Cormagh was finally in sight.

Looking ahead, you saw what looked like many interconnected buildings, but none seemed taller than a single floor. As you made your way to the entrance, you noticed that there was barely any space between the houses, and the entire city seemed to be covered by a large ceiling, managing to make the dark seem even darker. With almost no lights in the city, natural or otherwise, you were forced to light a lantern just to be able to see around you as you tried to navigate your way to find anyone at all to ask about the lost Princess.

“We’ll cover more ground if we split up,” Lerus stated. “We should all head in separate directions to help this go faster.”

“I don’t think we should make a lady walk around alone in the dark,” Nathan added, leaning up against a wall, appearing casual as can be as he eyed you slyly.

“I agree,” Torren replied. “Ellis, you’ll be with (Name).”

Your mouth dropped a bit in surprise, but this was nothing compared to Ellis’ own reaction. “What? Why do I have to babysit her!?” he demanded.

“Well, if anything, she’ll be babysitting you. You need to learn that you can’t get through life without being able to be in the presence of a woman,” Torren retorted.

Ellis’ face wavered, torn between whether to go against Torren or not. Relenting, he stormed off in the opposite direction, turning his head back to glare at you when he noticed that you had not immediately followed behind him.

You quickly faced the other three boys, wishing them luck, before following after Ellis. “So, where should we search first?” you asked him.

“Find a house with a light on, duh,” he answered, not looking at you, his head looking left and right with no success finding any lights on at all.

It had been a while and your eyes were getting sore constantly trying to look through the intense dark. At last, you heard Ellis speak up.

“I knew eventually we’d find someone!” Ellis huffed, picking up speed towards a source of light in the distance.

You rushed behind him, only to stop short in order to not run into Ellis’ back, brows furrowing as you heard a faint curse from Ellis. Looking around him, you gasped as you looked on at the odd scene in front of you.

The only light was coming from an open courtyard, but that was the easiest part of the scene to take in.

The floor was littered with bodies.

There looked to be at least twenty people lying in the courtyard, none moving even a muscle. If they were dead, it must have been recently, since they were all in perfect condition.

You gripped Ellis’ sleeve in your panic. “Are they…?”

“I don’t know. If they are, it hasn’t been for long or they’d be skeletons by now.” Ellis’ jaw clenched as he replied.

“I’ll go check it out.”

Before Ellis could take a step forward, he was halted by a shout.

“What are you doing!?”

You both spun to face an angry-looking man as he rushed towards the two of you. “You can’t go out there! Everyone who goes out there drops dead!”

Ellis turned on the man. “And you didn’t think to put up a warning sign? Or are we the first visitors here to ever need one?!”

“Ellis, maybe we should go get the others,” you tried, hoping to calm him down for at least a second.

Unfortunately for you, he didn’t seem to possess any calm at the moment as he whirled to face you. “You’re not buying this, are you dumber than I thought?” He strode past you, heading towards the open area.

You made to follow him, but hesitated in unease, watching as Ellis marched over to one of the bodies in the center of the area, leaning down over a prone man.

He leaned his ear towards the man’s face with furrowed brows for only a few seconds before his head snapped back towards you. “They’re not dead, they’re asleep!”

“What do you mean?” you asked, taking a step into the area.

You made eye contact with Ellis as you noticed a crow fly down and land near him, and as it landed, Ellis dropped to the floor like a stone, seemingly unconscious like all the others around him.

“Ellis!” you yelled, dashing over to him, only to hold an arm over your face at a sudden bright light. Uncovering your face, you found yourself facing a tall woman with narrow eyes and dark hair flowing down her back, but most notably now holding the unconscious Ellis over one shoulder.

Barely thinking straight in your panic, you raised a hand to try and reach towards Ellis. The woman’s eyes met yours with rapid speed, her sneer telling you of your chances of getting Ellis back more than her words ever could.

“I don’t want you, _girl_.”

And with that, she raised a hand towards you, and with that you were flung backwards and straight out of the open clearing and back into the covered darkness where you had been standing before.

You sat up, winded and body aching from the impact, only to watch the woman sprout what you figured must be giant crow wings, and without sparing you a single glance, took off into the sky.

Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes in your shock and grief, screaming Ellis’ name one last time before him and the woman vanished from your sight.

You heard your name being called and turned to see Lerus and Nathan, followed by Torren and the man who had warned you and Ellis earlier.

“I see we are too late for your hotheaded friend,” the man said solemnly.

“You…” you started.

“I went to gather your companions when it became clear that boy had no intention of heeding my warning.”

“What warning?” Torren asked, face a mix of confusion and apprehension. “(Name), where is Ellis?”

“He… he went out to the dead people but said they were only sleeping, and then he passed out and a crow turned into a woman and grabbed him and flew away and –”

“Woah, are you sure you didn’t pass out too, darling?” Nathan asked, leaning over to place a hand on your arm to help you stand up.

“I’m not, I –”

“I’m gonna assume nobody else wanted to leave their house to tell you,” the man interrupted.

“Tell us _what_?” Torren pressed.

A noise from the sky made the man flinch and usher your group into a nearby house.

“Before anything, your name, sir?” Lerus inquired.

“Tybis,” he replied, trying to motion for you to sit before Torren’s hardened expression made him reconsider and begin talking instead.

“We didn’t always live like moles. This is the only way we can stay safe now.”

“Safe from what?” Lerus asked.

Tybis sighed, and you could almost see the weight he carried with his every word. “Years and years ago, our King fell ill and sought a sorceress to heal him. She cured him but in return she asked for more than we could give her,” he said, eyes cast downwards. “She wanted to marry our King and become Queen, but the King refused to marry a sorceress, and she went on a rampage that ended with her being banished from here. But she didn’t like that, so every night she would come from the sky and grab a citizen, and we built these houses under cover, but she will not let us build coverings over that area. Anyone who walks out there drops dead,” he turned to look at you. “Or as you friend seemed to think, asleep.”

“But I was out there!” you protested. “And I’m fine!”

“Well you’re luckier than the rest of them,” was his reply. “But you’d better get out of here before you end up like your friend.”

Torren was looking much less calm than he usually would be, eyes hard and mouth drawn into a straight line, looking ready to give Tybis a verbal lashing. Nathan, also taking note of Torren’s change in demeanor, clasped his hands together and stepped forward.

“Alright, well we actually can’t leave without our prickly friend, so if you would tell us where to find the sorceress, we’ll head off and you can go back to playing mole people.”

“You’ll die if you go to her!” Tybis retorted, choosing to ignore Nathan’s insult.

“Well Ellis will die if we don’t.” Torren said sternly. “So, please,” he visibly composed himself. “If you could tell us where to go.”

“Fine. She took over the old tower we abandoned when we first went underground. I hope you can rescue your friend, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

 

You felt a bit nervous as you walked through the desolate abandoned section of the city that was completely exposed to the open air, bringing your horses along by the reins, the ceilings too tall to ride through. The buildings were tall, but none taller than the tower that stood tall and ominous in the heart of the buildings that surrounded it.

“You think she’ll come get another one of us on our way? It’d sure save time walking all the way up that tower.” Nathan was probably too casual about the situation, and was warned of this by you giving him a disapproving look. “Alright, alright, princess, I get it,” he said, holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I guess this is more exciting than going door to door.”

You noticed you two had fallen a bit behind Torren and Lerus, who were both anxious to get to the tower to find Ellis.

“Is everything about excitement to you?” You had been wondering this a while, curious if Nathan was bored all the time or just flighty.

He appraised you, breaking eye contact for a few seconds to answer. “When you’ve been as many places as I have, everything tends to interest you less.”

“So you’d rather go fight one crazy old lady after another?”

He laughed, sending a slight smile your way. “Trust me sweetheart, it sure beats what I’d be doing if I had never left my home.”

Try as you may, Nathan did not divulge any more information about his past, quickly changing the subject on you.

“Alright, be on your guards. We do not know if the sorceress’ magic has any limitations or what she will do,” Lerus cautioned, removing his sword from its scabbard.

Torren did the same, staring ahead at the entrance door of the tower, which looked to be unused for some time. _Makes sense_ , you figured, _since if you could turn into a bird and fly away, why would you bother with doors_?

Torren thrust open the door, seeing nothing but a dusty foyer, before walking in. The rest of your group followed Torren in, looking around at the actually fairly uninteresting room. The walls and floors were bare, and there was nothing in the room except for the bottom of the stairs which also looked like they hadn’t been climbed in a long time.

The walk up the tower was fairly uninteresting as well. You weren’t sure how far up you had gotten, but did not want to look out a window to find out. You weren’t sure if the boys could tell, but as you climbed higher, you started to feel a hum through your body that you assumed must have been nerves at first, but on second thought, the hum felt somewhat magical in nature. It was a weird feeling; your body felt warmer, and you noticed that you felt no fatigue, even though you had never climbed such a high building before and should have been tired by now.

Getting to the top of the tower, you found yourselves in a small room that was once again bare, except for a large rug that spanned most of the room, which was not that impressive, given the size of the room.

“So did that guy lie or is she just invisible?” Nathan’s voice echoed around the room.

You were beginning to get a small headache from the magic energy you had been feeling. Suddenly remembering the secret passages in books your mother had read to you as a child, you tried to focus on the magic, and locating a pathway to it. It felt weird, but if it could save Ellis then you were not beyond at least giving it a try.

Your mind felt flooded with all of the energy that was now flowing at you, and you fell to your knees when a sudden surge hit you.

“(Name)?” Torren was at your side immediately, arm around your shoulder to support you as he helped you stand back up. “Are you alright?”

“Um…” You had been concentrating on the magic for a while, so you were sure that you weren’t crazy, but it still felt a bit embarrassing to admit it out loud. “I can feel her magic.”

“You… are you able to use magic?” Torren asked hesitantly.

“I don’t know, I’ve never felt magic before. But I know she’s here, there has to be a hidden way further up!” you asserted.

Just then, your spoken question received an answer as you felt something inside you pulling towards the wall opposite from you. Accepting the pull, you walked over to the wall, placing a hand on it. You ran your hand against the wall, suddenly feeling surprised as the wall went from smooth rock to feeling like a wooden door. You reeled back to look, seeing only stone wall. Reaching your hand out again, you were able to locate what felt like a doorknob. Immediately grasping it, you pulled the invisible door open, watching as the wall in that area faded, and disappeared to reveal a stone pathway heading up.

“You sure you’re not secretly a sorceress?” Nathan teased with an impressed whistle.

“I don’t… I…” You weren’t really sure what this was, but for now you could focus on getting to Ellis first and worrying about this later.

Torren took the lead up the stairs, followed closely by Lerus, and then you and Nathan at the back. The staircase was very narrow, not wide enough for more than one person, and it took a minute or so for your group to ascend the stairs, until you found yourselves in a large room that had to have been magically enhanced, given the fact that the top of the tower you had seen from outside was in no way wide enough to contain a room of this size at the top.

Beyond the size, the room was decorated very elaborately. Paintings of who you recognized as the sorceress decorated the walls, and beautiful gold furniture was all around the fancy room, the largest of which was the plush bed in the center of the room, which was the largest attention grabber in the room, seeing as it contained both the sorceress and Ellis, who seemed to be caught in a struggle, the sorceress trying to press closer to him, while Ellis was struggling to push her away.

“Don’t resist, my husband! Soon you will make me so happy, like all the others!” The sorceress implored.

“I said… to get the hell off me!” Ellis yelled with another shove at her to try and get her off of him.

“Hey!” Torren shouted, gaining the attention of the two on the bed immediately.

The sorceress was immediately caught up in the distraction. “Ooh, more handsome men. I always have room for more husbands!”

Her appraising look turned into one of shock and fury when she was kicked in the back by Ellis, who used the distraction in order to dash off the bed, though the sorceress was still between him and getting over to your group.

She fixed Ellis with an annoyed look. “My sleep curse should have lasted longer on you. You wouldn’t resist my love if I had put the ring on you before you woke up. So much trouble I have to go to for you!”

“Nobody was asking you to!” Ellis yelled back, and now that he was standing up and you were able to get a good look at him, you were surprised. Instead of his normal clothing, Ellis wore something you would’ve imagined on a fairytale prince.

He was dressed in pure white; a collared shirt with many unnecessary frills below a white coat with gold trim. He even wore a cravat, which you were sure he would be unhappy about if he didn’t currently have bigger problems. His pants were also white with gold stitching, and he wore shoes that you had only previously seen Torren wear the first time you had met him.

“If she takes these men to marry them, then where are they?” Lerus wondered out loud.

Nathan heard this and decided to run with it, stepping into view of the sorceress. “If you’ve had so many husbands, where are they?” he called out to her.

“They failed me, like all the men of that awful kingdom failed me when they turned me away. Nobody needs to worry about them anymore.”

And then at once her eyes shifted to you, as Nathan’s movement had exposed you to her eyes.

“You!” she screeched. “You dare bring a girl here!?”

“Yep,” Nathan replied casually. “This _girl_ is the wife of that guy you were trying to get frisky with, so mind giving him back to us?”

“Nath–” Nathan cut you off by stealthily leaning closer to your group, as you made eye contact with an uncomfortable-looking Ellis. “When she goes nuts, we get in there.”

As if on cue, the sorceress’ face became stained red with anger. “He is nobody’s husband but mine! If I must kill her to claim him than I shall!” she screamed, making to start a spell, but the boys were faster.

Ellis tackled her to the floor while Torren and Lerus sprinted across the room to help hold her down. Nathan ran after them as you looked around the room for any magical items that could help you restrain her.

Hearing shouts you turned back to see the sorceress had unleashed a spell that pushed all of the guys off of her.

She was practically fuming at this point. “You… you dare to do this to me!?”

The guys were all on their guard, weapons drawn as they watched the sorceress stand back up, glaring at you. Her eyes flickered between all of the men before locking her gaze on Lerus. “A soldier… you will do.”

Before anyone could react, she flung a ring she had brought up out of nowhere in Lerus’ direction, and magic did the rest, affixing it to Lerus’ left ring finger. With a yell of pain, Lerus dropped his sword, falling to his hands and knees.

“Now, husband. _Get rid of the girl_.”

Immediately, Lerus stood up, picking up his sword and looking at you with dead cold eyes.

“Lerus…?” you tried, seeing no change in his eyes when you called his name.

You fell back in surprise as Lerus silently and swiftly came at you, barely missing with a broad swing of his sword.

Lerus didn’t get a second strike at you however, as Torren dashed in front of you to meet Lerus’ sword with his own, leading the two to begin to engage with each other, Lerus trying to get past him towards you and Torren moving quickly to block his way.

The sorceress seemed to be loving this, but you were not out of her attention yet.

Hearing your name, you turned to see Nathan beside you. “I’ll distract her, you need to use this newfound magic sense of yours to find something to deal with this hag.”

And with that and a nod to Ellis, they were off. Nathan tackled the sorceress back onto the bed, straddling her. “What’s so great about Lerus when you could have me?” he asked her.

Your arm was grabbed, ripping your attention away from Nathan and instead to Ellis, who was now at your side. “Come on, we need to ransack this place, no time to watch Nathan flirt.”

With a nod, you both ran about the room, trying to sort through the junk in order to find something of use.

Trying to calm yourself mentally, you felt the hum of the magic return to you. Hoping it would work, you tried to focus on asking the magic for something to use to stop the sorceress.

You looked in the book, the spells it contained looking like they were written in another language, but blurry.

Like you could almost read them, but they were just slightly out of focus.

“Come on, come on...” You squinted, trying to get just one of the spells to be readable.

“How dare you! Get out of that!” The sorceress screeched, pointing a sharply-tipped nail at you, before it turned to point at Torren.

She yelled a word that you didn’t understand as a sickly green light came from her towards Torren, who was still locked in combat with Lerus. He didn’t have enough warning to dodge as the light hit him square in the chest, toppling him to the floor where he laid, unmoving. Lerus stood above him, sword poised to put an end to the prince’s life.

“Torren!” you screamed, and found that Ellis had also yelled the same thing as he tried to dash over to his friend.

“No, no, husband...” the sorceress chided, a single spell stopping Ellis mid-run as she sauntered over to him.

You looked at the book, trying desperately to read any spell. They were still blurry. You couldn’t- 

All of a sudden one spell in the middle of the page unblurred. Without giving it a second thought, you shouted the spell out loud.

Suddenly a light blue mist rose from the floor into the room.

The sorceress shrieked. “What is this? This is-”

You watched as Torren sat up, blinking his eyes in confusion as he looked around the room. Lerus, above him, was frozen, staring at Torren, before he quickly dropped his sword onto the ground. And Ellis, who had the sorceress’ hand still on his shoulder, has turned, almost fast than you could see, and punched the sorceress right in the face.

The sorceress shrieked again, moving her fingers in an odd, circular pattern, but finding that nothing was happening. Her enraged gaze turned straight to you where you sat with the book still in your lap and Nathan beside you giving her a lazy smile and a wiggle of his fingers.

“You...! You...!”

She stormed towards you in utter anger, but found herself on her front, pressed against the floor with Ellis’ foot on her back.

“Ellis...” Torren said.

Ellis locked eyes with his old friend. “I can handle myself around women just fine!”

Torren laughed as he stood up, brushing the dust off of his clothing as you all gathered around the prone sorceress, mist still swirling around the room.

“You’ve killed a lot of men, sorceress,” Lerus stated. “You will have to answer for what you have done.”

“I will do nothing,” she replied miserably. “I have lost everything.”

“You could always meet a new husband in prison?” Nathan suggested, shrugging as he got a few unimpressed looks.

The mist was beginning to fade from the room, dissolving back into the floor. The sorceress laughed bitterly.

“What now?” Ellis demanded.

“I had forgotten that spell, girl.” The sorceress’ eyes were on you now. “You had some luck finding that book. But if I am to die, I will not allow you to escape me.”

“Die?” Torren probed. “No one has said you will be killed.”

“She has,” she replied. “This spell removes all magic, and that is much of what I am now. And so I will fade away.”

What? That sure was a lucky spell to become available to you, but it was going to kill her?

“Don’t look so sad, little brat,” she said to you. “Because you will join me!”

And with that, she placed her palms on the ground and the room lit up with fire. After expelling the last of her powers, she dropped to the ground. She wasn’t moving, but you could still hear her laughter, your gaze locked on to her in almost a daze.

“Girl talk later,” Nathan said, pulling you to the exit door you had found earlier, and you moved your gaze from the sorceress, who was now fading into dust, to escaping with your allies.

With Lerus in the lead clearing out any rubble from the path as the building started to collapse, you followed behind the boys, running as hard as you could down the never-ending winding staircases.

“Go, go, go!” Torren shouted to the group as you exited the building, running through the path and back to the underground city.

“It’s coming down!” Ellis yelled, and you turned back to see the tower collapsing, aimed straight at you.

For a second you froze in terror, unsure where you should go, clutching the almost-forgotten spell book to your chest.

You heard your name shouted as you were pushed to the side, a tall body covering yours as stones rained down upon you and the boys.

You had clenched your eyes shut in nervousness, but other than the weight of the body on top of you, you felt fine.

“Is everyone alright?” Torren called out.

Nathan, who had been on top of you, as you discovered by opening your eyes, groaned as he got off of you. “I’m alive,” he said as the others voiced their wellness of being as well.

You went to pick up your nearby spell book that fell, when you noticed that your hand had blood on it. You were bleeding? But it didn’t hurt.

You went to ask Nathan if you looked okay when you noticed the bleeding was coming from him. His shirt had some blood stains that seemed to be coming from a wound on his back.

“Nathan!” you shouted, attracting not only his attention, but the attention of the others around you. “You’re hurt!”

“It’s not that bad...” Nathan dismissed. “I wish you hadn’t shouted about it, princess. Now look what you’ve caused.”

“Nathan, are you alright?” Torren asked, making his way through the debris and over to you and Nathan.

“Fine,” he answered, not making eye contact with either of you, looking very awkward.

You frowned. He could be a stubborn idiot if it was just a scrape, but that was too much blood for that. You grabbed his hands with yours, which drew his attention to you instead of Torren’s movements.

“Weird time to make a move...” Nathan grumbled, not resisting your hold.

Torren understood exactly what you meant to do. As soon as he got over to Nathan, he lifted the back of his shirt up and off his back.

Nathan let out a bark of pain.

“Stop squirming.” Lerus had also made his way over, and cut the back of Nathan’s shirt open with his sword.

“What are you doing?” Nathan protested, turning around, but a tug to his hands stopped him from moving as he looked back at you curiously.

“If you move I might cut you with my sword,” Lerus answered.

“I didn’t ask you to assault my clothing!” Nathan argued.

“Woah,” Ellis said as he also came over. “That looks bad.”

“Thanks,” Nathan bit sarcastically. “Just what I wanted to hear. Can we just leave now?”

“Not until we fix this,” Torren told him, making his way around to your side so he could look Nathan in the eyes. “You were actually going to not tell us about that?”

Nathan didn’t answer. Everything was sounding so bad, you couldn’t help but ask. “What is it?”

“A previous injury reopened is what it looks like,” Lerus told you. “This doesn’t look like it’s been healing properly... what did you do?”

Nathan bit down on his lip. “If you aren’t going to help, just let me be. I’ll leave you be, you can go searching for the princess and won’t have to worry about me!”

“Nathan!” You were really worried at this point, smacking him lightly on the cheek. “Shut up.”

“Darling...?” Nathan looked stunned as he stared back at your unwavering gaze.

“Stop saying stuff like that. If you’re hurt, let us fix it. You can decide if you want to leave after you’re healed.”

In actuality, if he left, you would miss him. You didn’t want him to decide to leave, but you couldn’t just tie him to you to keep him from leaving. If you even suggested that, he would likely have some far too sexual comment to add to the idea of being tied to you. But for now, he was not leaving your sight if he was badly injured. You weren’t about to let him die now, not after he had spared you the fate of a heavy stone falling on you.

“We’ll head back into the city and then seek treatment,” Torren declared.

“Uhh... that might be an issue,” Ellis said, pointing to the path back, which was covered in stones so high it would be difficult to climb, and impossible for Nathan in his injured state.

"I’m not sure what to do now...” Torren admitted, hands on his hips as he surveyed the blocked road back.

“We already know that the princess is not back there,” Lerus spoke. “So we have no choice but to head forward. I have spent extensive time studying my king’s maps and they noted another city only half a day’s travel away. We can make it in two days, and give Nathan time to rest between journeys.”

“That will have to do,” Torren agreed, then noticing Nathan’s sour expression. “We’re not about to let you die in the woods alone just to save your ego,” he teased, and Nathan looked away, cheeks reddening as he did not reply.


End file.
